We've had these Brooking discussions before, and I still am surprised at all of the animosity towards Brooking. Not accusing anybody here of this, but I would wager that least 20% of the overall venom towards Brooking is racially motivated.

As for Brooking getting into the Ring of Honor, yes he belongs there. There are 7 Falcon players that have been to 5 or more Pro Bowls in their career. Brooking is one of those 7. 5 of the others have essentially had their numbers retired (although technically teams aren't allowed to do that), but the team still asks permission of those specific players before handing out that uniform #. You can't walk into a Falcons mini-camp and request the #78. If you do, someone has to place a phone call to Mike Kenn before that can become a possibility. The 7th person BTW is George Kunz, who for whatever reason is the least celebrated "Great Falcon" in team history, perhaps because he spent nearly as much time as a Falcon as he did as a Colt.

And as for D-Led's writing, I have to say a sentence he had in that article is a great illustration of why he is a lackluster writer.

He says, Brooking is one of the last members of the '98 Super Bowl team. No, D-Led, Brooking is the last member. When Mort came out of retirement in 2007, I'm pretty sure, he, Brooking, and Salaam were the only members of that team still in the league. Salaam retired after 2010, and really only came back that year because the Texans needed him due to a Duane Brown suspension. Once Brown was reinstated, Ephraim was gone. Brooking is all that is left.

And it ticks me off because if D-Led had done literally just 7 minutes of research (the amount of time it took me to discover this tidbit), he could have corrected that issue in his piece. But of course, it's just easier to not put in any effort and say, "Brooking is one of the last members" rather than to definitively say he is the last member.

Look, I know the newspaper is a dying industry. The AJC cut half of their staff just a few years back to stay afloat, and I know they probably have bigger fish to fry than worrying about who the Falcons beat writer is. But whenever I read other beat writers for pretty much every other NFL team, I am informed by things.

In a good year, D-Led might "break" 3 stories, but none of them are juicy. And about 50% of the thigns he writes that he believes will happen, don't happen. And that 50% is probably being generous. D-Led's writing is about as accurate as the weather man.

We've had these Brooking discussions before, and I still am surprised at all of the animosity towards Brooking. Not accusing anybody here of this, but I would wager that least 20% of the overall venom towards Brooking is racially motivated.

As for Brooking getting into the Ring of Honor, yes he belongs there. There are 7 Falcon players that have been to 5 or more Pro Bowls in their career. Brooking is one of those 7. 5 of the others have essentially had their numbers retired (although technically teams aren't allowed to do that), but the team still asks permission of those specific players before handing out that uniform #. You can't walk into a Falcons mini-camp and request the #78. If you do, someone has to place a phone call to Mike Kenn before that can become a possibility. The 7th person BTW is George Kunz, who for whatever reason is the least celebrated "Great Falcon" in team history, perhaps because he spent nearly as much time as a Falcon as he did as a Colt.

And as for D-Led's writing, I have to say a sentence he had in that article is a great illustration of why he is a lackluster writer.

He says, Brooking is one of the last members of the '98 Super Bowl team. No, D-Led, Brooking is the last member. When Mort came out of retirement in 2007, I'm pretty sure, he, Brooking, and Salaam were the only members of that team still in the league. Salaam retired after 2010, and really only came back that year because the Texans needed him due to a Duane Brown suspension. Once Brown was reinstated, Ephraim was gone. Brooking is all that is left.

And it ticks me off because if D-Led had done literally just 7 minutes of research (the amount of time it took me to discover this tidbit), he could have corrected that issue in his piece. But of course, it's just easier to not put in any effort and say, "Brooking is one of the last members" rather than to definitively say he is the last member.

Look, I know the newspaper is a dying industry. The AJC cut half of their staff just a few years back to stay afloat, and I know they probably have bigger fish to fry than worrying about who the Falcons beat writer is. But whenever I read other beat writers for pretty much every other NFL team, I am informed by things.

In a good year, D-Led might "break" 3 stories, but none of them are juicy. And about 50% of the thigns he writes that he believes will happen, don't happen. And that 50% is probably being generous. D-Led's writing is about as accurate as the weather man.

It is called the 'Ring of Honor' , not the 'Ring of Cute Stats and Pro-Bowls'

Now, Deion's situation seems different. It is my understanding the Smith's are partially to blame for him walking.

But, the reason Brooking(s) had to call Blank and apoligise is because he did something very 'dishonorable'. He mocked the Falcons, doing the dirty bird in front of the bench. He was an a$$hole: worse he was MEDIOCRE a$$hole, where as at least Deoin could 'back up' his 'tude.

So, no he DOES NOT belong there. Period.

Pudge, please explain this remark "I still am surprised at all of the animosity towards Brooking. Not accusing anybody here of this, but I would wager that least 20% of the overall venom towards Brooking is racially motivated."

What does Brooking(s) have to do to piss you off? Make a sh*tty movie about Islam? Kill some dogs?

Besides the fact he was a PRIMARY reason we lost Matty's first playoff game, he openly mocked the team.

HE IS ON CAMERA MOCKING THE TEAM! The Team he now ( and you guys think ) want's to hang his jersey in the rafters!

Why do you think he 'apologised'? 'Oh, Im sorry, Im an emotional guy, forgive me for poking you in the eye' .

BS.

"It was understandable that Brooking was pumped for the Cowboys-Falcons game in October (which somewhat turned both teams’ seasons around — the Falcons’ in the wrong direction). It was somewhat comical — and certainly out of character — how he trash-talked his former team and mocked them during Dallas’s win. (He later apologized for the trash-talking. But when asked about taunting the team by flapping his arms like a bird during the game, he responded, “I ain’t apologizing to anybody."

Ahem 2009, Dallas..

Maybe we should put Mike Vick and Jeff George up there too! Hell why not Petrino?

I can hear the response now.

"Cmon Fun Gus, he made one mistake. He apologised for it. Look at all the years he gave his 'all'. Lookit all those ProBowls. Lookit the cute stats! Okay, so he wiped his ass with the Rise Up flag. Yeah, I know, he peed in the Gatorade cooler. Okay, I know it's not right that he kicked Freddie the Falcon in the dick. He apologised, right? Give him the ROH!"

Brooking(s) is not an idiot: he just acts like one. Actions have consequences. Wanna mock your old team like that? Go ahead, but no 'apology' after the fact means you now get in the ROH.

If he did not do this one thing, I wouldn't have a problem with it. I could overlook his years of declining play, where he was basically stealing money, because he was a good 'Image Warrior' in the Blank Brigade. He read to kids and helped plant ghettogardens. Yippee.

But sh*t on your former teammates on TV? Hells no. I dont care WHO it is. I dont care if it is Matt Ryan, and he won a Superbowl, if he acts like this when playing for ANOTHER team to his old team, F8ck Him!

Vick? Never. That's shitting on a franchise. Even without the cruelty to animals issue, he clearly wasted the team's time and money.

Brooking? The guy blew up once. He was a dick about it, but they cut him and Phillips loose and I think he has a right to celebrate beating his former team and I think Phillips, who was currently on top of the world as a head coach after being denied (and rightly so) that opportunity in ATL, probably egged him on a bit.

To use an analogy, he showed up at a bar and was an ass about pointing out how much better his current girlfriend was than his ex-wife, the woman who divorced him. I think he gets that blow-up, gratis.

Brook laid it on the field for the Falcs for more than a decade. He's been local GA his entire career until then. He's not may favorite Falcon ever (Ryan, Abe), but there's no denying the amount of effort and love he showed this franchise.

Besides the fact he was a PRIMARY reason we lost Matty's first playoff game...

It's nice to play make believe fun gus, but that statement is categorically false. Sure, Brooking was the goose on the big play at the end of the game, but to call him the PRIMARY reason we lost that game completely ignores the other 59 minutes of that game. Don't you think that Fitzy & Q putting 173 and 2 TDs on our secondary had something to do with it? Or the fact that Ryan was sacked 3 times, lost one fumble, and threw 2 picks in that game? Or the fact that Turner was held to 42 yards, tied for his worst showing of the season.

fun gus wrote:

What does Brooking(s) have to do to piss you off?

Looked, his mocking the team pissed me off. But I'm not going to hold a grudge or act like his actions were completely unreasonable. Brooking wanted to end his career in Atlanta, he was hurt by that. He became an a## on that day in Dallas, but IMHO his actions in that game was a very human reaction. 90% of the human race would have reacted similarly. Now maybe half that 90% would have taken the high road and been less "flagrant" with that emotional outburst, but anybody that pretends like Brooking did something abnormal in the heat of the moment IMO is being hypocritical.

Deion didn't leave Atlanta in the best of terms, but what has happened is that retroactively people have come back and excused that behavior. I don't see why at some point in the future that shouldn't be the case with Brooking.

Because when you look at Brooking's on-field accomplishments, he is one of the best defenders to suit up in a Falcons uniform. And what he did in a Falcon uniform certainly IMO overshadows anything he did subsequently.

fun gus wrote:

Pudge, please explain this remark "I still am surprised at all of the animosity towards Brooking. Not accusing anybody here of this, but I would wager that least 20% of the overall venom towards Brooking is racially motivated."

I'm never shy about controversy, but given that the Falcons fan base moreso than most NFL fan bases has a very central and large African-American core demographic. And I suspect some of the animosity (20% probably is a gross overestimation on my part ) directed at Brooking has its roots in that, based off the idea that I think some of that core believes that Brooking was given favorable treatment by the organization and media (i.e. The "Hometown Hero") thanks in part due to his skin color that may not have been afforded to other players of different racial background(s). Not to mention threads such as this that seem to be much more willing to apologize for a player like Brooking than they are for a player like Michael Vick, whom many feel did more for this team/franchise than any other player in Falcon history. Especially a player like Brooking, who many Falcon fans (including myself) feel was probably overrated during his playing career.

Again, not accusing anybody in particular for having this opinion. I'm just saying I believe such an opinion exists, and probably is secretly more rampant than probably many think.

And yes, despite the fact that I do think Brooking was overrated as a player, I don't really care if he's put in the Ring of Honor. It's not Canton folks. It's a plaque and a banner. I could care less about which players Arthur Blank chooses to honor from Falcons history.

Besides the fact he was a PRIMARY reason we lost Matty's first playoff game...

It's nice to play make believe fun gus, but that statement is categorically false. Sure, Brooking was the goose on the big play at the end of the game, but to call him the PRIMARY reason we lost that game completely ignores the other 59 minutes of that game. Don't you think that Fitzy & Q putting 173 and 2 TDs on our secondary had something to do with it? Or the fact that Ryan was sacked 3 times, lost one fumble, and threw 2 picks in that game? Or the fact that Turner was held to 42 yards, tied for his worst showing of the season.

fun gus wrote:

What does Brooking(s) have to do to piss you off?

Looked, his mocking the team pissed me off. But I'm not going to hold a grudge or act like his actions were completely unreasonable. Brooking wanted to end his career in Atlanta, he was hurt by that. He became an a## on that day in Dallas, but IMHO his actions in that game was a very human reaction. 90% of the human race would have reacted similarly. Now maybe half that 90% would have taken the high road and been less "flagrant" with that emotional outburst, but anybody that pretends like Brooking did something abnormal in the heat of the moment IMO is being hypocritical.

Deion didn't leave Atlanta in the best of terms, but what has happened is that retroactively people have come back and excused that behavior. I don't see why at some point in the future that shouldn't be the case with Brooking.

Because when you look at Brooking's on-field accomplishments, he is one of the best defenders to suit up in a Falcons uniform. And what he did in a Falcon uniform certainly IMO overshadows anything he did subsequently.

fun gus wrote:

Pudge, please explain this remark "I still am surprised at all of the animosity towards Brooking. Not accusing anybody here of this, but I would wager that least 20% of the overall venom towards Brooking is racially motivated."

I'm never shy about controversy, but given that the Falcons fan base moreso than most NFL fan bases has a very central and large African-American core demographic. And I suspect some of the animosity (20% probably is a gross overestimation on my part ) directed at Brooking has its roots in that, based off the idea that I think some of that core believes that Brooking was given favorable treatment by the organization and media (i.e. The "Hometown Hero") thanks in part due to his skin color that may not have been afforded to other players of different racial background(s). Not to mention threads such as this that seem to be much more willing to apologize for a player like Brooking than they are for a player like Michael Vick, whom many feel did more for this team/franchise than any other player in Falcon history. Especially a player like Brooking, who many Falcon fans (including myself) feel was probably overrated during his playing career.

Again, not accusing anybody in particular for having this opinion. I'm just saying I believe such an opinion exists, and probably is secretly more rampant than probably many think.

And yes, despite the fact that I do think Brooking was overrated as a player, I don't really care if he's put in the Ring of Honor. It's not Canton folks. It's a plaque and a banner. I could care less about which players Arthur Blank chooses to honor from Falcons history.

BTW, Dunta still blows....

Oh please good Gawd.

"Besides the fact he was a PRIMARY reason"

read Pudge.

Does that say 'The' or 'A' ?

Now, you can jump through all the hoops you wanna, but my statement is TRUE.

Brookings was A Primary reason for losing that game.

Not 'The primary reason'. But he did not 'help'.

So 'stats away' "Looked, his mocking the team pissed me off. But I'm not going to hold a grudge or act like his actions were completely unreasonable. "

well, you should definitely be in the State Dept. Because I think it was pretty 'douchey'.

And obviously, it did not 'piss you off' enough. I believe I am starting to understand what will.

I guess if some player has 'good stats' and is a total 'prick' one time, you give him the 'benefit of the doubt'.

Vick? Never. That's shitting on a franchise. Even without the cruelty to animals issue, he clearly wasted the team's time and money.

Brooking? The guy blew up once. He was a dick about it, but they cut him and Phillips loose and I think he has a right to celebrate beating his former team and I think Phillips, who was currently on top of the world as a head coach after being denied (and rightly so) that opportunity in ATL, probably egged him on a bit.

To use an analogy, he showed up at a bar and was an ass about pointing out how much better his current girlfriend was than his ex-wife, the woman who divorced him. I think he gets that blow-up, gratis.

Brook laid it on the field for the Falcs for more than a decade. He's been local GA his entire career until then. He's not may favorite Falcon ever (Ryan, Abe), but there's no denying the amount of effort and love he showed this franchise.

No he did not 'blow up once', and he does not 'have a right to celebrate beating his former team' unless he is a little bitch. It is the freekin NFL, grow the F up. To use your analogy, he showed up at the bar, which was a MILF bar( cause by then he was OLD) . He paraded around his 'new' bitch, which we all saw was not 'as hot', right? Then, he got too old for the MILF bar, and now that he is at the VFW, he feels 'bad' for jumping ugly.

You guys really kill me. I guess he needs to come over to your basement and pee on his Fathead before you will admit he did a 'bad thing'. There are very few 'bad things' in my opinion a former Falcon can do. Not only did he 'do it', we have you guys running cover.

I dont care if he 'laid it on the field' ( which he really did, literally) it only takes one minute to F it all up.

OK, Deion mocked us when he ran back a pick or a kick for the 49ers. Chandler was even a little over the top in his desire to beat us when opn the Bears. For a guy known as being pretty unemotional his towel waving and so forth pretty much told you what he was thinking but neither were as stupid about it as KB. Also, after the 3:16 play KB made a bee line to the locker room rather than hobnobbing like usual. But it is just one play. I never thought he was all that and I don't think he was ever seen by his team mates as the leader the org wanted to present him as. OTOH, you don't play in this league for 16 years by sucking and I admire those vets who wind it up playing ST. Never really thought of him as being a remarkable player. Fairly solid. Racial motivation? Why not? There is too much money and political capital at stake from "both" (after all, the only people in the world are black and white, right?) sides to let it die. He was way over hyped by the org. Waaaaay. Ring of Honor? Considering the massive suckage of the franchise historically maybe it should be called the Ring of Infamy. He was never quite as good at playing the game on the field as off, IMO. When I think back on him---and I have watched virtually every game he ever plkayed for us--what always strikes me is how few big plays come to mind...as in, well, zero. He made some, I'm sure, but he couldn't carry Chuck Smith's portfolio. Put him up there!

I don't hate anybody but I'll have to say I think the closest I ever got to hating a Falcon was when Deangelo blew that game with all those unsportsmanlikes a few years back. Panthers? I actually felt J. George got more crap than he deserved when here though the "Georgia Dome" thing was pretty classless. We have def had our share of jerks over the years. Probably was a pretty hard place to play.

Now, you can jump through all the hoops you wanna, but my statement is TRUE.

Brookings was A Primary reason for losing that game.

Not 'The primary reason'. But he did not 'help'.

Sorry fun gus, for mistaking the connotations of your statement "a primary." I mean, how could I give the definition of the word primary means:

1. first or highest in rank or importance; chief; principal.2. first in order in any series, sequence, etc.

And such that you CAPITALIZED it to get further emphasis. So excuse me for thinking the statement "a PRIMARY" is just stating THE PRIMARY, especially when given as a reason to be pissed off at Brooking. Which my point with the "cute stats" was to show that is a pretty insipid reason for disliking him. Matt Ryan and Michael Turner each are also "a PRIMARY" reasons why we lost that game, but would you use that against them to prevent them from being honored by this team? No. But you would against Brooking, mainly because you probably realize the only real knock against him is his actions towards the team in 2009. There are many PRIMARY reasons why we lost that Cardinal game, and to use a single game as "a PRIMARY" reason to bar a specific player from an honor that highlights his ENTIRE CAREER is fairly petty if you ask me.

Brooking played poorly, so did some others. Eventually you gotta move on.

fun gus wrote:

And obviously, it did not 'piss you off' enough. I believe I am starting to understand what will.

No, fun gus "enough" has got nothing to do with it. I don't hold grudges against people. Others do. I have a friend that is still holding onto a grudge with a person over some trivial insult from 9 years ago. Some people hold onto grudges/beefs for a long time, others don't. There is no right/wrong when it comes to that.

I respect that you have in your eyes a legit beef with Brooking. That's your prerogative. But you should also understand that not everyone is built that way. Other people can move on. It's one relatively minor incident from 3 years ago in the grand scheme of things. And if down the road the Falcons want to honor him, then so be it.

Maybe as punishment for his actions, the Falcons wait 11 years before they honor him, maybe once Sean Weatherspoon is long gone, they put both of them into the Ring of Honor.

fun gus wrote:

I guess if some player has 'good stats' and is a total 'prick' one time, you give him the 'benefit of the doubt'.

Just depends on 'who' that player is.

Its just fun gus, I don't see the Falcons Ring of Honor as some illustrious honor. He gets a plaque and his jersey hanging in the stadium. I personally don't think players need to be under heavy scrutiny to receive such as honors. Terance Mathis didn't mince his words about the Falcons after leaving the team, but he's the 2nd best WR in team history (behind Roddy), but should he be barred from the Ring of Honor too?

Deion wasn't too kind towards the Falcons after he left. But he got down on his knee and apologized to Blank, and now that has all been forgotten and forgiven by 98% of the fan base. Brooking is just taking a page from him.

If you want to continue to beef with Brooking then by all means keep it up. But don't be shocked that others have moved on and ready to let bygones be bygones. But as a Falcon fan, I understand that some of us can hold onto things a little longer than others. I know there are still Falcon fans today that still hate Eugene Robinson and Michael Vick. With Robinson, I moved on more than a decade ago. I'm still critical of Vick the player, but as far as having any real enmity towards him, I realized about 18 months ago when he was working with Tyrod Taylor before the 2011 draft on ESPN that I couldn't muster up a lot of hate for him like I had in previous years.

As far as I'm concerned, over 4 years ago many of us voted for the 53 best guys we thought had played for this organization over the previous 42 seasons. As far as I'm concerned, all 53 can go into the Ring of Honor. Brooking was among them. I think Jamie Duke is a crappy analyst, but it wouldn't make me want to bar him from it. I think Roddy is a jackass, but short of him stabbing Arthur Blank or molesting his dog, I can't really imagine what he could do to prevent himself from having his jersey hung up in the stadium. I don't really care.

Matt Ryan and Michael Turner each are also "a PRIMARY" reasons why we lost that game, but would you use that against them to prevent them from being honored by this team? No.

wrong. I already stated that if they had done what Brooking did, I would have an issue with them as well. IMO, there are ways to 'move on'. Now, Lofton: if he does this same thing when we play the Saints: he jumps ugly in front of the bench, he does the dirty bird, he trash-talks and gloats: guess what? F him too.

Stats be DAMNED.

You didn't see P Kearney acting this way. Plenty of other players have 'moved on' without being a jacka$$. Brooking obvsiously 'held a grudge', right? Fine.

So do I. I guess Im not 'mature'. Lets just say I wont be crying if he actually gets playing time and Turner decides this is the night to turn it on and runs right over his silly a$$, or I hope he gets trucked or get a nice helmet in the gut.

You can sing kumbayah and chant zen mantras when they hoist that jersey up in the rafters, I will be cursing it.

We will see what kind of 'welcome' that old fraud gets Monday night. If he is roundly boo-ed, then Artie and his PR flacks better get ol highway 3:17 back on the old bookmobile!

Also lemme ask you this. If you were a Chiefs fan, would you have been upset that Tony Gonzalez dunked on the goalpost. Apparently the Chiefs fans were not too keen on it, and thus is that enough in your eyes to bar him from their Ring of Honor? Because it seems like the exact same situation.

Also lemme ask you this. If you were a Chiefs fan, would you have been upset that Tony Gonzalez dunked on the goalpost. Apparently the Chiefs fans were not too keen on it, and thus is that enough in your eyes to bar him from their Ring of Honor? Because it seems like the exact same situation.

you know, I cant answer for Chiefs Fan, because I dont know all the history. If Tony left, and acted like a little 'bitch' , then dunked on them on purpose to piss em off? Then yeah, I'd say F him too!

But something tells me he wasn't that unclassy, and the dunk was just him being goaded on. He said as much: that he did not intend it as an insult. But, if they took it that way, I dont know all the backstory.

And this is my all-time favorite Pudge tactic: the old apples and oranges.

TG vs Brooking? Put down the pipe, son. Now even CLOSE. TG is a guranteed first round HOF. The closest thing to a 'Hall' Brooking is EVER gong to sniff is a cough drop. And just in case he needs to know where it is: look 7 yards downfield

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